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OSHA/Workers’ Compensation Worksheet
You might have to search online for a few of these. Try
www.osha.gov
True or false?
___ 1. An employer must report every workplace injury to OSHA within 8 days.
___ 2. If a state has its own approved occupational safety and health plan, then employers in that state have to follow the state law, not the federal law.
___ 3. Most US states have their own approved occupational safety and health plan for employees in private industry (not just government workers).
___ 4. If a restaurant is resuming dine-in service, then to comply with OSHA standards, the restaurant must require all of the employees to wear masks while working. (Not in the book)
___5. OSHA cannot fine an employer for a violation unless an employee is injured by it.
___ 6. An employer can be responsible for a hazard that none of its managers even know about.
___ 7. OSHA officials can inspect a worksite even if there have been no injuries or complaints.
___ 8. An employee has the right to refuse to do any job that he or she thinks might be unsafe.
___ 9. If an employee is injured at work due to an OSHA violation that was the employer’s fault, then he or she can sue the employer in court for compensatory and punitive damages.
___ 10. If one employee is injured at work and has to go to the hospital, then the employer must report the injury to OSHA within 24 hours.
_____ Including the OSHA poster, how many posters explaining the employees’ legal rights are required by the federal employment laws we’ve covered in this course?
Workers’ Compensation Video Questions: (I will attach the video)
12. What is the fourth way an employer can insure against workers’ compensation claims? – The one that’s not on the slide. _______________________
Back to True or False
___ 13. Employers with fewer than 5 employees are not required to have workers’ compensation insurance.
___ 14. If an injury at work is the employee’s own fault, then the employee does not get workers’ compensation benefits for the injury.
$___ 15. How much is the employee’s copay for medical treatment for a workplace injury?
Why don’t lawyers like to represent people who get hurt at work?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G62tepICV6tqCuRge…Here is the link for the video
Overview of the OSH Act
Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the OSH Act) in 1970 to
ensure safe working conditions for all American workers. The act requires
employers to provide working conditions that are free of hazards likely to cause
serious injury or death. Employers that fail to do so are subject to stiff penalties.
The OSH Act has four main provisions:
•Compliance. Employers must comply with standards issued by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or, if they are in a state
plan state, by the state agency.
•Safety. Employers must keep their workplaces free of recognized hazards.
•Inspection. Employers must submit to inspections from OSHA inspectors or,
if they are in a state plan state, from OSHA-approved state inspectors.
•Employee rights. The OSH Act gives employees the right to request
information about workplace hazards, refuse to work in hazardous
environments, and otherwise get involved in workplace safety issues without
employer retaliation.
In addition, employers must maintain accurate records of all work-related
accidents and diseases and inform employees of their rights and obligations under
the law.
The OSH Act has literally thousands of pages of regulations, covering everything
from proper use of ladders to handling radioactive substances. The type of
business a company engages in will determine which of these regulations it must
follow. This discussion addresses only general employer duties under the OSH Act;
it cannot begin to cover all of the industry-specific regulations that may apply to a
particular company. To find out about these rules, refer to the “Agency Resources”
section, below.
Issues relating to multiemployer responsibility are also not covered here.
Covered Employers
The OSH Act covers virtually all private businesses, regardless of size, as long as
they employ at least one person and are located in one of the 50 states, the District
of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands, the Canal Zone, the Outer Continental Shelf, Wake Island, or
Johnson Island.
Definitions
Terms that appear in italics throughout this chapter are defined below.
Imminent danger: Any condition or practice that could reasonably be expected
to cause death or serious physical harm either immediately or before the danger
can be eliminated through OSHA enforcement procedures.
Longshoring: The loading, unloading, moving, or handling of a ship’s cargo, stores,
gear, and so on.
Recognized hazard: A workplace hazard that an employer is, or should be, aware
of and that is likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Recognized hazards
encompass not only working conditions and the workplace environment, but
also workplace practices.
State plan state: A state that has submitted a workplace safety plan to the
secretary of labor for approval. If the secretary approves the plan, the state can
retain control of work-related health and safety issues within its borders.
The OSH Act allows states to enact their own occupational health and safety laws,
and many states have done so. Employers in these states (called state plan states)
must follow state regulations instead of OSH Act regulations. (See “State Laws
Relating to Occupational Safety and Health,” below, for more about this issue.)
The OSH Act does not apply to businesses regulated under the Atomic Energy
Act or under job safety rules of federal agencies other than the U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL). For example, the Federal Aviation Administration has its own
regulations on how to transport radioactive materials on airplanes. Those rules
supersede OSHA regulations about radioactive hazards for airline workers. There
has been much dispute over which federal regulations fit within this exception and
which do not; because these rules are quite complicated, they aren’t covered here.
The OSH Act does not apply to local governments and their political subdivisions.
It also does not apply to state governments and their political subdivisions.
However, if a state wants to take advantage of the state plan option, its plan must
cover state employers. Thus, in all of the state plan states, state employers are
subject to the state’s equivalent of the OSH Act.
Legal Developments
•OSHA proposes rule to modify electronic reporting of injuries and
illnesses. An Obama-era final rule, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2018, would
have required employers with 250 or more employees, and employers in certain
high-risk industries, to electronically submit Form 300A (summary of workplace
injuries and illnesses for the year), Form 300 (log of injuries and illnesses), and
Form 301 (incident reports for injuries and illnesses). However, in 2018, OSHA
delayed the implementation of the rule and proposed a new rule that would only
require these employers to electronically submit Form 300A. OSHA is still in the
rulemaking process, which will likely continue into 2019.
The OSH Act does not apply to the federal government and its political
subdivisions. However, it does require each federal agency to devise health and
safety standards that are consistent with the OSH Act. In addition, an executive
order issued by President Carter protects federal workers by requiring federal
agencies to comply with OSH Act standards, provide workplaces free of recognized
hazards, and submit to inspections from the DOL. The order also protects workers
from retaliation for filing reports about unsafe working conditions. OSHA does not
have authority to impose fines on federal agencies, but it does respond to
complaints from federal government employees.
Covered Workers
The OSH Act applies to any employee of a covered employer, regardless of the
employee’s title, status, or classification. Thus, the law applies to managers,
supervisors, partners, stockholders, officers, and family member employees as
well as to rank-and-file employees.
The OSH Act does not apply to independent contractors or to the immediate
family members of a farm operator.
Did You Know . . .
•Workplace fatalities are on the rise. In 2016, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
•Some of the most common causes of fatal workplace injuries are transportation
incidents (such as car crashes or being struck by a vehicle); violent acts (by
people or animals); machine-related injuries; falls, slips, or trips; machinerelated injuries; and exposure to harmful substances or environments.
•OSHA offers Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) to promote health and safety
at company worksites. VPP invites companies to apply to be assessed against its
criteria for managed safety and health systems. Approval requires application
review, vigorous inspection, annual self-evaluation, and periodic reevaluation.
But OSHA claims that participating in VPP reduces injuries and illnesses among
employees, leading to lower workers’ compensation premiums and other costs.
For more information, visit www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/index.html.
Major Provisions of the OSH Act
Compliance
Since its inception in 1970, OSHA has been issuing workplace safety standards.
These standards fall into four broad categories: general industry, maritime
and longshoring, construction, and agricultural. Covered employers must follow
the safety standards that apply to their businesses. This is referred to as “pre-
inspection compliance,” because employers must comply with the safety
regulations before they are specifically told to do so by an OSHA inspector. Failure
to comply may result in fines and penalties.
If an employer operates in a state plan state, then it must follow its state plan
standards rather than the OSH Act standards. (See “State Laws Relating to
Occupational Safety and Health,” below, for information about state plan states.)
Key Facts: Compliance
•Employers must determine which standards—under the federal OSH Act or an
applicable state plan—apply to their industry, their specific business, and their
operations, and then strictly comply with those standards.
•Employers must train and supervise their employees appropriately and
adequately under the OSH Act or an applicable state plan.
•Employers must provide safe tools and equipment, as well as proper safety
equipment, for all of their workers.
Covered Employers
All covered employers are subject to these provisions.
Covered Workers
All covered workers are subject to these provisions.
What’s Required
Employers must follow the standards that apply to their industries:
•General industry. As a general rule, all covered employers must follow the
general industry standards, unless the standard itself specifies the type of
workplace to which it applies. (For example, one set of general industry
standards applies only to bakeries.) The general industry standards cover
such things as safe operation of machinery, exit routes, fire safety, how
materials must be handled and stored, walkways and work surfaces,
ventilation, exposure to noise, use of forklifts, and personal protective gear.
•Construction. As the name suggests, construction standards apply to covered
employers with employees who do construction work, including construction,
alteration, repair, painting, and decorating.
•Maritime and longshoring. These standards apply to covered employers
with employees involved in ship repairing, shipbuilding, shipbreaking, and
longshoring.
•Agricultural. These standards apply to covered employers with employees
involved in growing or harvesting crops, raising livestock or poultry, or
related activities on sites such as farms, ranches, orchards, or dairies.
Within each broad category are additional categories and levels of standards—
and sometimes, two or more standards may apply to the same activity. Thus,
finding out which standards apply to any one business or to any one operation can
be daunting. OSHA and the state plan states provide resources to help employers
understand which standards they must follow. (To find out more, see “Agency
Resources” and “State Laws Relating to Occupational Safety and Health,” below.)
The standards are meant to be taken literally. Whether or not an accident has
occurred is irrelevant to determining whether a covered employer has violated
the compliance provision. An employer can have no accidents for decades and still
violate the OSH Act (or its state equivalent) if it doesn’t follow the standard.
Similarly, an employer can have a number of accidents and be in full compliance
as long as it follows the standard (although workplace accidents may place the
employer in violation of the OSH Act’s safety provisions or the safety provisions of
its state equivalent; see “Safety,” below).
The OSH Act requires employers to train employees adequately for their jobs.
Some of the standards specify the type of training employees must receive. In
addition, covered employers must adequately supervise their employees.
Employers have a general duty to provide employees with tools and equipment
that are in safe condition. Many of the standards require that employers provide
their employees with specific types of safety equipment; with very few exceptions,
employers have to pay for this equipment. Some of the standards require
employers to protect employees from health hazards, such as asbestos and lead.
There are a number of defenses that employers can raise if they are accused of
failing to follow the standards. Those are beyond the scope of this discussion.
Safety
Covered employers have a general duty to provide their employees with a
workplace free of recognized hazards. Congress enacted this provision to cover
serious hazards to which no OSHA standard applies. If an OSHA standard does
cover a hazard, then that hazard does not fall under the general safety provision.
If an employer operates its business in a state plan state, then it must follow its
state plan standards, not the OSH Act standards. (See “State Laws Relating to
Occupational Safety and Health,” below, for information about state plan states.)
Key Facts: Safety
•Employers must provide their employees with work and a workplace free of
recognized hazards that could cause death or serious physical injury.
Covered Employers
All covered employers are subject to these provisions.
Covered Workers
All covered workers are subject to these provisions.
What’s Required
Covered employers must provide work and a place of employment free of
recognized hazards that have caused or are likely to cause death or serious
physical injury to employees. This duty extends beyond the four walls of a
company’s business to any location where an employee performs work for an
employer.
It can be difficult to determine which hazards are recognized hazards. Obviously,
a hazard that an employer knows about is recognized, as is one that is common
knowledge in the employer’s industry. A hazard will also be a recognized hazard
if the employer could easily detect it simply by walking through the workplace and
using the five senses. Many courts have also held that hazards that the employer
could detect through instruments are recognized hazards.
Inspections
The chief way in which OSHA enforces the OSH Act is through on-site inspections.
These inspections may be conducted at random, or OSHA may inspect a particular
worksite because it has received a complaint of unsafe conditions.
Employers that operate their businesses in state plan states face inspection from
state inspectors, not OSHA inspectors.
Key Facts: Inspections
•OSHA inspectors (or state plan inspectors, where applicable) enforce the OSH Act
(or state law) through random on-site inspections or inspections in response to
complaints.
•Employers can demand that an inspector have or obtain a warrant before
conducting an inspection. But once the investigator provides a warrant, an
employer must allow the inspection.
Covered Employers
All covered employers are subject to these provisions.
Covered Workers
All covered workers are subject to these provisions.
What’s Required
If OSHA presents an employer with an inspection warrant, the employer must
submit to the inspection. If OSHA appears without a warrant, however, the
employer can either consent to the inspection or demand that OSHA get a warrant
before entering the worksite.
Employee Rights
The OSH Act gives employees various ways to take action to ensure that their
workplace is safe. If an employee works for an employer that operates in a state
plan state, the employee’s rights may be slightly different from the ones described
in this section.
Key Facts: Employee Rights
•Under the OSH Act, employees have the right to ensure that their workplaces are
safe in a variety of ways, including participating in setting safety standards and
complaining to authorities about unsafe working conditions or OSH Act
violations.
•Employees also have a right to get information about hazards in their workplaces.
•Employees may refuse to work when they face an imminent danger in the
workplace that the employer refuses to correct, but only if the condition is so
dangerous that it could harm the employee before OSHA is able to respond to an
employee’s request for an investigation.
The OSH Act gives employees a number of important rights, including the right
to:
•petition OSHA to adopt a safety standard
•file a complaint with OSHA about unsafe working conditions or other OSH Act
violations
•where an imminent danger exists, seek a court order compelling the secretary
of labor to conduct an inspection
•participate in the inspection and conferences relating to the inspection
•oppose settlements and withdrawals of contested cases
•inspect their employer’s log of occupational injuries and illnesses, and
•request a government determination as to whether there are any toxic
substances in the workplace.
The Act also gives employees the right to receive or request certain information
about workplace hazards. For example, employers whose operations require them
to monitor employee exposure to toxic substances must:
•inform employees of the presence of certain toxic substances in the workplace
•allow employees to participate in the monitoring
•give employees all of the information obtained in the monitoring
•inform employees when they are being exposed to dangerous levels of toxins,
and
•give employees access to exposure records and their own medical records.
Although the OSH Act does not expressly allow employees to refuse to work in
dangerous conditions, OSHA regulations do allow it when employees are faced
with imminent danger. An employer may not discipline an employee for refusing
to work if all of the following are true:
•The employee has a reasonable and good-faith belief that performing the work
presents a real danger of death or serious physical injury.
•The employer will not correct the danger.
•There isn’t enough time to eliminate the danger through other channels, such
as requesting an OSHA inspection.
In the case of a toxic substance or another health hazard, the worker must
reasonably believe that the toxic substance or hazard is present and will shorten
life or substantially reduce physical or mental efficiency. The harm itself does not
have to happen immediately.
State plan states and unionized workplaces with collective bargaining
agreements may have different rules about when employees can refuse to work
because of workplace hazards.
How the OSH Act Is Enforced
Individual Complaints
Employees can complain to OSHA, or to the OSHA-approved agency in their state
if they work in a state plan state, about safety hazards and violations. Employees
cannot sue their employers directly for violations of the OSH Act.
Agency Enforcement
Except in state plan states, the OSH Act is enforced by OSHA, a division of the
Department of Labor. (See Appendix A for information on how to contact OSHA.)
In state plan states, the law is enforced by an OSHA-approved state equivalent.
The principal enforcement method is inspections by federal OSHA inspectors or
by OSHA-authorized state inspectors in state plan states. Often, the agency will not
inspect in person, but instead will call the employer and follow up with a letter
describing the unsafe conditions that have been alleged. If the employer responds
quickly and provides detailed facts showing either that the hazard does not exist
or that it will be remedied soon, that might end the matter.
If, however, the employer’s response does not satisfy the agency, or the agency
decides that the allegations are serious enough to warrant an on-site inspection
(for example, because an imminent danger is alleged or because the employer has
a history of OSH Act violations), the company can expect visitors. If the inspectors
find violations, they will issue a citation to the employer along with a proposed
penalty. Usually, the citation will also order the employer to cure the violation
within a certain time period.
If the employer disagrees with the citation or wants to do something different
from what the citation orders, the employer must respond within 15 days. If the
employer doesn’t act within 15 days, the citation becomes final. If the employer
disputes the citation, it doesn’t have to pay penalties or cure the alleged violation
until an administrative law judge decides the matter.
Complying With the OSH Act
Reporting Requirements
All covered employers must report to OSHA, within eight hours, any accident that
results in one or more deaths. Workplace injuries that result in the hospitalization
of one or more employees, the amputation of an employee’s limb, or the loss of an
employee’s eye must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours. These requirements
apply even to employers that are exempt from OSHA’s record-keeping
requirements (see “Record-Keeping Requirements,” below).
Posting Requirements
All covered employers must post:
•an OSHA poster informing employees of their rights and obligations under the
OSH Act (see “Agency Resources,” below)
•a log and summary of occupational illnesses and injuries (unless the employer
is not required to keep these records—see “Record-Keeping Requirements,”
below)
•current citations that OSHA inspectors have issued to the employer, and
•any petitions that the employer has filed for modification or abatement.
Employers may be required to post additional industry-specific notices,
depending on the type of businesses that they run. Employers that operate in a
state plan state may have different posting responsibilities than the ones
described above.
Record-Keeping Requirements
The OSH Act has numerous record-keeping regulations. Generally speaking,
however, covered employers must maintain:
•records of their efforts to comply with the law and to prevent occupational
injuries and illnesses
•records of work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses, and
•records of employee exposure to potentially toxic substances or harmful
physical agents.
Not all covered employers have to keep all of these records, however. Employers
with ten or fewer employees do not have to keep OSHA illness and injury records,
nor do employers in certain low-hazard retail and service industries, such as art
galleries, advertising agencies, banks, computer and data processing companies,
insurance agencies, and restaurants.
Employers must allow OSHA inspectors access to their logs and records and
must transmit certain information about workplace health and safety to OSHA.
Employers must use OSHA forms to keep their records.
Employers must also participate in any surveys that the Bureau of Labor
Statistics sends to them.
Companies that operate in state plan states may have to follow different recordkeeping rules. Those employers should contact their state agencies (see “State
Laws Relating to Occupational Safety and Health,” below, for more information).
Penalties
Employers face civil penalties and criminal prosecution for violating the OSH Act.
These penalties can be as high as $129,336 for each willful or repeated violation.
In addition, some state prosecutors have charged employers with crimes such
as manslaughter, murder, and aggravated assault when employees have been
severely injured or killed by unsafe working conditions. Sometimes, prosecutors
introduce OSH Act violations as evidence in these prosecutions.
In addition, workers and their families can sometimes sue employers outside of
the workers’ compensation system for injuries and deaths caused by unsafe
workplaces.
Agency Resources
•Workplace safety poster that employers are required to display
Job
Safety
and
Health:
It’s
the
www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3165.pdf
•A concise summary of employer responsibilities under the OSH Act
Law!
Employer
Responsibilities
www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/employer-responsibility.html
•Information about OSHA’s consultation program for small businesses
On-Site
www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult.html
•FAQs on the OSH Act’s record-keeping requirements
Consultation
Detailed Guidance for OSHA’s Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Rule
www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/entryfaq.html
•A list of the industries, by SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code number,
that are exempt from OSHA’s record-keeping requirements
Partially
Exempt
www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/ppt1/RK1exempttable.html
Industries
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is part of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It researches health and safety problems and develops criteria
that OSHA can use when promulgating standards designed to cure those problems.
As part of its research, NIOSH can inspect workplaces, issue subpoenas, and
interview employers and workers. NIOSH also conducts training and educational
programs. The NIOSH website (www.cdc.gov/niosh) offers lots of information
about workplace hazards and safety strategies.
State Laws Relating to Occupational Safety and Health
When it was passed, the OSH Act preempted all state job safety and health laws.
Each state then had the option of submitting a plan to the secretary of labor for
approval. If the secretary found the plan acceptable, then the state’s law could
stand. Below is a list of states that have exercised this state plan option for state
and local government workplaces and private workplaces as of November 2018.
For the most up-to-date list and contact information for each of the state plan
organizations, visit www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html.
State Plan States
Alaska
Arizona
California
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oregon
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
In addition, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin
Islands have state plans that cover state and local government employment only.
If a state has an approved state plan, that state can govern workplace health and
safety with its own laws, regulations, and standards.
If a state does not have an approved plan, the federal law preempts state laws,
regulations, and standards relating to job health and safety—except in cases
where the federal law doesn’t cover an issue. For example, the federal law does
not have standards relating to elevators. Therefore, states can have their own
standards relating to elevators, even if they did not exercise the state plan option.
In addition, all states—even those that aren’t state plan states—can enforce laws,
such as fire codes, that protect a wider class of people than just employees. All
states can also train and educate and consult on job safety and health issues. And
all states can have laws protecting state and local government employees.
